Grand Theft Auto 6 is likely to be the biggest video game launch in a decade. And because it’s skipping PC at launch and seems unlikely to arrive on Switch 2, that leaves players who want to enjoy Rockstar’s next big game with very few options. You’ll need an Xbox Series X, S, PS5, or PS5 Pro to experience GTA 6. Those aren’t cheap these days, and GTA 6 is $80. So to hop in now will be very expensive.
How does the cost compare to what someone would have had to shell out to play past GTA games? When you factor in inflation, the numbers get much closer than you might expect, but GTA 6 and a new PS5 are still the most expensive combo yet.
For this list, I focused on the cheapest new PlayStation console option available the day each new GTA game launched. We’re ignoring PC and Xbox prices as well as the various GTA spin-offs, like Vice City Stories. Lastly, for the inflation numbers, I used this calculator and the most recent data from May 2026.
Grand Theft Auto
The original Grand Theft Auto launched in December 1997 for the OG PlayStation, arriving months after Sony slashed the console’s price to $150. Yes, this post is going to remind you of the fact that consoles used to go down in price over time. According to magazines of the era, GTA launched at $50 on the original PlayStation in the United States.
Cost to buy a PS1 and GTA in 1997 – $200 | In 2026 that’s about: $415
Grand Theft Auto 2
Grand Theft Auto 2 launched on PlayStation in October 1999, which was very good timing for the top-down sandbox action game as it followed shortly after a PS1 price drop. This is still the cheapest opportunity in history to buy a launch copy of a new GTA game alongside a new console on which to play it. GTA 2 launched at $50 in the United States.
Cost to buy a PS1 and GTA 2 in 1999 – $150 | In 2026 that’s about: $298
Grand Theft Auto 3
Grand Theft Auto 3 arrived on PlayStation 2 in 2001 and became one of the console’s biggest hits. It launched at the then-standard $50 price tag on the barely year-old PS2. Not quite a launch title, but a very early PS2 game that proved how much more powerful the new machine was compared to the PS1.
Cost to buy a PS2 and GTA 3 in 2001 – $350 | In 2026 that’s about: $660
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Later this year, millions of gamers will be hopping into GTA 6‘s updated version of Vice City. 24 years ago, in 2002, millions of players were visiting the PS2 version of Vice City and jamming out to one of the best game soundtracks ever created. The game also arrived not long after the first major PS2 price cut of $100.
Cost to buy a PS2 and Vice City in 2002 – $250 | In 2026 that’s about: $462
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
This was the first GTA game I vividly remember being hyped for and counting down the days until it launched. I remember thinking the two-year gap between Vice City and San Andreas was so long. How naive I was back then. San Andreas arrived at the tail end of the PS2’s lifecycle, but still ended up being a massive hit for the aging console. And it also benefited from yet another PS2 price cut that happened in 2004.
Cost to buy a PS2 and San Andreas in 2004 – $200 | In 2026 that’s about: $351
Grand Theft Auto IV
The first GTA game to make the leap to the next generation of consoles and also the first GTA title to launch on both Xbox and PlayStation. At the time, the cheapest way to play GTA IV in April 2008 would have been via getting your hands on a price-reduced, discontinued Xbox 360 20GB model for $300. Meanwhile, the cheapest new PS3 variant would have been $400.
Cost to buy a PS3 and GTA IV in 2008 – $460 | In 2026 that’s about: $561
Grand Theft Auto V
The most recent GTA game is also somehow 13 years old. Wild. GTA V launched in 2013 on both Xbox 360 and PS3. At that point, both machines had been around a bit and had received some price cuts. As such, both cost $300 new for versions that had enough storage space to install the game. Just don’t install the play disc on Xbox 360!
Cost to buy a PS3 and GTA V in 2013 – $360 | In 2026 that’s about: $515
Grand Theft Auto 6
And so we reach the next GTA game. Over a decade after GTA V, Rockstar is finally releasing GTA 6 this November with an $80 price tag. And it’s launching at a time when aging consoles like the PS5 are more expensive than ever due to the ongoing RAM shortage squeezing the entire globe. A bad combo for sure. The cheapest option in November, assuming that nobody raises prices (again) and that nothing happens that sees prices miraculously go down (unlikely), is going to be an Xbox Series S. It won’t be the best way to play GTA 6, but it will be the most affordable. But if you want to play GTA 6 on a PS5 and don’t own that console yet, be prepared to spend nearly $700 before taxes.
Cost to buy a PS5 digital-only console and GTA 6 in 2026 – $680